A GUIDE TO FUNDRAISING
Many people who have run for us in the London Marathon have told us that collecting pledges is a pleasure, running the race is tough, but nothing is harder than collecting the money afterwards!
Simple planning can make this last task less arduous and we hope that the following suggestions will help.
- Who will I approach?
Make a list of everyone who might sponsor you. -
- Start with your immediate family, then go on to your extended family.
- List all your close friends and then go on to list any other friends you think might support you.
- List all your immediate colleagues and then anyone else at work who might support you (especially the boss!). If you have any suppliers at work, make a note of who you might ask at each firm.
- Finally, ask yourself if there is anyone else you meet, through other hobbies perhaps, who might help.
- Online giving
This year, we have teamed with Virgin Money Giving to provide a secure online fundraising service that makes fundraising quick, easy and fun! All you need to do is visit www.virginmoneygiving.com and follow the online instructions. Within minutes you can create a personal e-fundraising homepage and email a link to all your friends. They can then make secure online donations directly to us in less than 3 minutes! Fundraising online has several advantages: -
- It's quick, easy and fun - follow the simple online instructions to create your homepage - no technical expertise required!
- It gives you the chance to reach all your friends, colleagues and supporters around the world quickly, with a convenient way to donate.
- It cuts out the administrative work for both you and us - so more of the funds raised go to help leukaemic children.
- List your sponsors in order - the most generous first
Most people don't decide how much they're going to pledge before they commit themselves. They'll look to see how much everyone else is pledging, so put those who you think will pledge most first on your list and hopefully the others will follow along similar lines.
If you've never raised money for charity before, you'll be surprised how generous people can be. People like to help a charity if they are asked, and most will admire the fact that you are undertaking such a huge challenge. - Establish a fundraising target
People will ask how much you hope to raise and if it seems an ambitious sum, it may prompt them to give more. It will also remind them what a worthwhile task you are undertaking.
In order to establish a fundraising target, try to estimate how much each person on your list will give. Remember that the charity can claim back the tax on donations where the Gift Aid box has been ticked so this will add to each pledge (see separate section explaining Gift Aid).
If your employer operates a scheme where it matches or contributes to the money raised for charity by its employees, then you should adjust your total to get the amount you expect to raise overall (see separate section explaining Matched Giving). - Making the approaches
Be clued up enough to tell people about the charity, about how the money you raise will be spent.
In most cases, you'll find that it is easier to get people to sponsor you if you ask them face to face and they can see the pledges you have already collected. Where this is not possible, use the phone.
Sending a letter by post or email should be reserved for those people you cannot reach any other way.
Be ready to prompt people with an amount for which you would like them to sponsor you. This last point is especially important for those at the top of your list, as they'll set the tone for everyone else. Someone tempted to pledge £10 might immediately increase the total to £26 after seeing the generous pledges already on the form, particularly with a modest prompt of 'sponsor me a pound a mile please'!
